hot dog!

Posted on December 28, 2006 by mariko

Not much going on around here.

weiner wraps.JPG

Posted in food | 10 Comments

bustin’ out

Posted on December 27, 2006 by mariko

I know it seems like I don’t knit or sew anymore. It sure seems that way to me! Well, I actually sewed a skirt recently. I may have been inspired by a little accident I had last week–my car drove itself to the local sewing center down the hill from us, and it came home with a new serger. I don’t know how it happened.

jean skirt front.JPG
The pattern is from one of the Japanese skirt books I have (this one). I had some trouble with the fly and the waistband, but the pockets weren’t too difficult to put together. I’m not that crazy about the finished product, though. All these holiday sweets means I’m packing on some extra pounds, and this skirt is a little more snug than I like. It is also high waisted, which I can’t stand. So, I think I’m going to fiddle with the pattern a bit and make another one, since I do really like the styling of the skirt. Meanwhile, I’ll send this one to a friend and hope she likes it. Here’s the back (sorry for the fuzzy photo):
jean skirt back.JPG

Posted in Uncategorized | 11 Comments

christmas chucky

Posted on December 26, 2006 by mariko

Hope everyone had a nice Christmas! Ours was low key, and not much went on except for the cooking of the turducken. The butcher told me it would take 8-10 hours to cook, but in reality it only took 4 hours. Good thing I checked the sucker!

turducken whole.JPG
It kind of looks like a big ham, doesn’t it?
Here’s where the magic is:
turducken inside.JPG
Layers of chicken, duck, turkey, and wild rice stuffing. It was kind of hard to slice and keep pretty. I think it was okay but not incredibly delicious. Peter really liked it, and I think my brother liked it, too. He is the reason we got the turducken, after all. But we had a pleasant dinner, and my 90-year-old father even made it out of the house (and with his pants on!) to come over for dinner.

Posted in food | 9 Comments

nothing says Happy Holidays like free coffee

Posted on December 22, 2006 by mariko

Hope everyone’s holiday preparations are going smoothly! This morning I picked up our turducken, so it will be a grand adventure on Christmas when I try cooking the thing. The butcher informed me it will take about 8-10 hours to cook. HOURS. That is crazy!
Anyway, after fetching the turducken (also referred to as “chucky”), I headed out to a brand new Dutch Bros. Coffee for FREE coffee!

dutch bros bldg.JPG
There was a manageable line of cars waiting. One of the local radio stations was there blasting music, and perky Dutch Bros. employees handed out stickers and buttons that read, “Dutch Me.” It was pretty festive.
Dutch Bros. manages to hire young, affable employees (must be all the caffeine) who seem to really enjoy pulling shots. Don’t they look pleased to be serving us free coffee?
dutch bros gals.JPG

We got a couple latt

Posted in food | 5 Comments

bake on it

Posted on December 20, 2006 by mariko

Hey, thanks for sharing all your chocolate-eating rules! I notice there are few households that allow the bite-and-drop method, and I suppose that is a good thing. I’ll let you know when/if the article is posted at Candy Addict!
There’s been quite a bit of baking and cookie consumption going on around here. I went to a cookie exchange yesterday, and I baked two kinds of cookies for it, but I guess I forgot to take photos. Oh well. I made sabl

Posted in baking | 12 Comments

and the rules are …

Posted on December 19, 2006 by mariko

So did I mention that I’m one of the new writers over at Candy Addict? Can you believe it? I now have a LEGITIMATE reason for buying and eating as much candy as possible. Anyway, I need your help with some candy research!

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The other day Peter broke open a box of See’s Candies. I picked up what I thought was a chocolate-covered peanut cluster. After one bite, though, I realized it contained walnuts, so I sort of, um, dropped it back into the box. Peter saw me, and I got in Big Trouble. He said that was completely against the RULES, which got me thinking … you know how households usually have some informal rules regarding the eating of chocolates? Some houses just take bites and throw the undesirables back into the box, other houses use knives to investigate the innards, some houses use knives only on the bottoms of the chocolates so they will still appear pristine from the tops. You know. So, what are the rules in your house? Please share!

Posted in candy/chocolate | 46 Comments

lazy weekend

Posted on December 17, 2006 by mariko

I didn’t do much over the weekend. Did you? I hope you were more productive than me. I just kind of sat around, did a wee bit of sewing, a wee bit of baking, a wee bit of reading. It kind of hailed/snowed on Friday.

hail.JPG
Can you tell? I know it’s probably not very impressive to you northern territory types, but it was pretty thrilling for us Portlanders.
Last week my mother brought me some pink champagne cake. When I was a kid, we would often get pink champagne cake from Ikeda’s Bakery (it later became the Hillsdale Pastry Shop, and now it is Baker & Spice, which is totally unrelated to Ikeda’s or Hillsdale. B&S does not have the great cream-filled chocolate donuts or the square maple bars that Ikeda’s and Hillsdale had. Sometimes change is not for the better!). I always loved pink champagne cake because it was so pretty.
champagne cake.JPG
Isn’t it lovely? My mother was so distracted by the chocolate cake and ugly sweater I gave her that she forgot her purse here.
Anyway, that’s all I’ve got. I think I’ll go drink some decaf now.

Posted in General | 10 Comments

trick cake

Posted on December 15, 2006 by mariko

I recently got a copy of the Good Home Cookbook. It is full of homey, classic recipes, like Yankee Pot Roast, Franks and Beans, Ham and Noodle Casserole, Apple Dumplings, and Mexican Wedding Cakes. Of course, the first thing I made from it was a baked good!

snack cake.JPG
This is the One-Bowl Chocolate Snacking Cake. Lame photo, sorry. Dudes, it has mayonnaise in it! In a cake recipe! I had heard of this before but had never tried it. You know, it’s really quite tasty. The cake was moist and flavorful, and even the mayonnaise haters gobbled it up. I didn’t frost it, and the recipe says frosting is not necessary, but really, why NOT frost it (there are two types of people–frosting people and non-frosting people. I am in the first camp). Next time I will probably frost.
Read on for the recipe!

Continue reading →

Posted in baking | 10 Comments

hahaha!

Posted on December 15, 2006 by mariko

Hey y’all! superbuzzy is featured on Trust Your Style today! Trust Your Style is a great lifestyle blog by Mary Jo Matsumoto, a fashion designer. She recently featured our talented buddy Chico Hayasaki. So even if you don’t want to read goofy stuff about Kelly and me, please check out Mary Jo’s site for all kinds of interesting goodies.

Posted in zip | 3 Comments

attention, shoppers

Posted on December 13, 2006 by mariko

When we were in San Francisco last week, we stopped by a very cute shop on Polk Street called La Place du Soleil. They carry super cute Frenchy stuff plus Decole goods and lots of candies. The proprietress is mad about mushrooms, so there were lots of mushroom-themed goodies. She also carries candies called Snowpuffs, and ohmygoodness they are the most delicious things evuh.

treats from soleil.JPG
Yes, another bottle brush tree, some Snowpuffs, and mushroom marshmallows.
Thanks for all the music recommendations. I’ll be rocking out soon.

Posted in candy/chocolate | 4 Comments